OF  THE 

mmmif  a?  mm 


MALAYSIA 


-  By 

John  Russell  Denyes 


Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

1919 


1  I 


OF  m 

iSIYERSlTT  OF  ILUHOIS 

Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/malaysiaOOcleny 


MALAYSIA 


Where  is  Malaysia  is  off  the  southeast  corner 
this  of  Asia,  1500  miles  south  of  China  and 

Malaysia?  1500  miles  east  of  India.  It  includes 
the  Malay  Peninsula  and  the  islands 
of  Sumatra,  Java,  Borneo,  Celebes,  Timor,  The 
Moluccas,  New  Guinea,  and  a  thousand  smaller 
islands.  The  country  gets  its  name  from  the 
Malay  people  who  live  there. 

Well,  Malaysia  Are  you  sure  ?  When  you 
means  nothing  washed  your  face  this  morning 
to  me!  the  soap  was  probably  made  from 

cocoanut  oil  from  Malaysia.  Ma- 
laysia probably  furnished  the  rattan  for  the  cane- 
bottomed  chair  in  which  you  sat  and  the  tinware 
in  the  kitchen  where  your  breakfast  was  cooked. 
You  put  Java  sugar  in  your  Java  coffee,  .or  your 
Java  tea,  or  your  Java  cocoa.  You  put  Borneo 
pepper  on  your  eggs.  Your  coffee  cake  was  sea- 
soned with  Malaysia  spices,  and  your  pudding 
was  made  of  Malaysia  tapioca  and  seasoned  with 
Malaysia  nutmeg.  Your  peanut  butter  was  made 
of  Malaysia  peanuts.  Your  laundryman  uses 
Malaysia  bluing,  and  the  tires  on  your  car  are 
from  Malaysia  rubber.  You  wear  a  Java  straw 
hat  in  your  garden,  and  your  neighbor  smokes  a 
Sumatra  cigar.  Your  dentist  uses  Malaysia  co- 
caine, and  your  doctor  gives  you  Malaysia  quinine 
for  your  malaria  and  Malaysia  capsicum  for  your 
indigestion. 


1 


No  man  lives  unto  himself.  Every  man,  no 
matter  how  isolated,  is  related  by  the  ties  of 
giving  and  receiving  with  every  other  man. 


What  is  this  The  Malay  Archipelago  lies 
Malaysia  like?  wholly  within  the  tropics.  The 
equator  runs  seventy  miles  south 
of  Singapore  and  through  the  middle  of  Sumatra, 
Borneo,  and  Celebes.  Java  and  New  Guinea  lie 
to  the  south  of  the  equator. 

On  the  plains  the  thermometer  stands  at  about 
ninety  degrees  in  the  shade  the  year  round.  But 
the  nights  are  always  cool  enough  to  be  comfort- 
able. In  the  mountains  the  temperature  is  more 
moderate.  The  average  rainfall  is  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  inches  a  year.  This  makes  the 
climate  very  humid  and  less  tolerable  than  a  dry 
climate  with  the  same  degree  of  heat.  Shoes  put 
away  in  a  closet  for  two  days  are  covered  with 
green  mould. 

Size  If  the  map  of  Malaysia  were  placed  upon 
that  of  the  United  States  it  would  form  a 
great  crescent  reaching  from  Minneapolis  in  the 
north  to  New  Orleans  in  the  south,  and  from 
Seattle  clear  across  the  continent  and  a  thousand 
miles  out  into  the  Atlantic  ocean. 

The  islands  are  all  that  is  left  of  a'  great  con- 
tinent which  once  included  the  Philippines  and 
Australia.  At  some  prehistoric  day  this  continent 
sank  beneath  the  ocean,  leaving  only  the  high 
plateaus  and  mountain  peaks.  All  over  these 
islands  are  mountains,  more  than  a  hundred  of 
them  being  still  active  volcanoes.  Earthquakes 
are  frequent.  In  1883  the  eruption  of  Mount 
Karakatoa  threw  our  four  cubic  miles  of  rocks 
and  lava  forming  a  column  of  smoke  and  ashes 
twenty-one  miles  high.  Thirty  thousand  people 
lost  their  lives.   The  highest  mountain  peaks  are 


2 


Kina  Balu  in  Borneo,  13,698  feet,  and  Snowy 
Mountain,  14,635  feet,  and  Mount  Wilhelmina  in 
New  Guinea,  15,580  feet. 

The  Malay  Peninsula  is  about  a  thousand  miles 
long  and  has  an  area  of  90,000  square  miles.  Java 
is  slightly  larger  than  New  York,  50,557  square 
miles,  including  the  small  island  of  Madura. 
Sumatra  has  159,741  square  miles,  or  as  many  as 
New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  two-thirds  of 
Indiana.  Borneo  has  289,843  square  miles.  If 
England,  Scotland,  Ireland,  and  Wales  with  the 
Irish  Sea  were  put  down  in  Borneo  there  would  be 
a  strip  of  jungle  a  hundred  miles  deep  all  around 
them.  Celebes  has  72,000  square  miles  and  New 
Guinea  309,710. 


Population  It  is  impossible  to  give  the  exact 
population  of  Malaysia,  for  there 
still  remain  large  sections  of  the  various  islands 
which  cannot  be  said  to  have  been  really  explored. 
No  census  has  been  taken,  but  the  people  are 
roughly  estimated  at  about  fifty  million.  Of 
these  there  are  in  the  Malay  Peninsula  about 
three  million;  in  Sumatra,  five  million;  in  Java, 
thirty-six  million ;  in  Borneo,  two  and  a  half  mil- 
lion; in  Celebes,  two  and  a  half  million;  New 
Guinea,  one  million. 

Java  is  the  most  densely  populated  place  in  the 
world,  but  there  are  considerable  sections  of  Java 
which  are  sparcely  occupied.  Java  can  support  a 
population  of  forty-five  millions.  Sumatra  could 
take  care  of  a  hundred  millions,  the  Malay  Penin- 
sula of  fifty  millions,  Borneo  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  millions,  Celebes  forty  millions.  New 
Guinea  and  the  other  islands  one  hundred  and 
fifty  millions.  In  other  words  Malaysia  could  pro- 
vide a  home  and  food  for  one-third  of  the  whole 
human  race. 


3 


A  Jungle  With  the  exception  of  Java  the  whole 
Country  of  Malaysia  is  one  vast  jungle  with  only 
here  and  there  small  sections  where  the 
forest  has  been  cleared  away  to  make  room  for 
cultivation.  Giant  trees  a  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
tall  crowd  upon  one  another.  Smaller  trees  are 
massed  in  between,  struggling  up  towards  the 
sunlight  far  above  them.  Great  palms,  like  forest 
trees  but  covered  with  long,  sharp,  spiny  thorns, 
block  the  traveler's  way ;  and  monster  ferns  wave 
their  fifteen-foot,  feathery  leaves.  Long,  rope- 
like roots  creep  downward  from  the  dripping 
branches  a  hundred  feet  above ;  and  to  the  trunks 
of  the  trees  cling  multitudes  of  priceless  orchids. 
And  everywhere  the  various  creepers  with  their 
hook-shaped  claws  spread  themselves  out  like  a 
great  lace  curtain  over  the  tree-tops,  binding  all 
nature  together  and  shutting  out  the  sunlight. 


The  hunter's  Through  these  tropical  jungles 
paradise         roam  great  herds  of  wild  elephants. 

In  the  shallow  waters  plays  the 
rhinosceros.  Here  is  the  home  of  the  tapir  and 
the  ant-eater.  Here  also  are  found  tigers,  leo- 
pards, panthers,  wild  cats,  and  bears.  Various 
varieties  of  deer  are  found  in  the  forests,  includ- 
ing the  tiny  mouse  deer,  scarcely  larger  than  a 
jack-rabbit.  Wild  cattle,  more  dangerous  than 
the  tigers,  charge  the  unwary  hunter;  and  wild 
pigs  root  up  the  farmer's  rice  fields.  Crocodiles 
swarm  in  the  rivers;  countless  apes,  monkeys, 
baboons,  and  orang-outangs  make  their  home  in 
the  trees ;  horn-bills,  parrots,  pheasants,  and  birds 
of  paradise  live  among  the  branches ;  while  snakes, 
lizards,  centipedes,  and  scorpions  infest  the 
ground. 

Scientists  in  Java  have  classified  one  hundred 
and  thirteen  varieties  of  land  snakes  and  twenty 
varieties  of  water  snakes.    Of  these,  twenty  va- 


4 


rieties  of  land  snakes  and  all  the  water  snakes 
are  poisonous. 

Java  But  Java  is  different.  Java  is  one  long 
chain  of  living  or  extinct  volcanoes.  To 
the  south  the  country  drops  off  with  a  steep  slope 
to  the  Indian  Ocean.  To  the  north  the  country 
slopes  gently  down  to  the  shallow  Java  sea.  From 
the  sea  shores  to  five  thousand  feet  up  on  the 
mountain  sides  the  whole  land  is  laid  off  in  ter- 
races ranging  from  fifty  square  feet  to  two  or 
three  acres  in  extent.  Here  no  droughts  ever 
come,  but  always  and  everywhere  marvelous  ver- 
dure in  every  shade  of  green  upon  these  giant 
stairways  which  lead  up  to  the  smoking  craters 
above. 


Products  About  seventy  per  cent  of  all  the  tin 
in  the  world  comes  from  Malaysia.  In 
Java,  Sumatra,  and  Borneo  have  been  found  great 
quantities  of  petroleum.  Borneo  and  Sumatra 
have  considerable  deposits  of  coal,  though  lack  of 
transportation  has  limited  the  output.  The  Fed- 
erated Malay  States,  Borneo,  Sumatra,  New 
Guinea,  and  Celebes  produce  gold  and  silver  in 
paying  quantities.  About  25,000  ounces  a  year 
are  exported.  Borneo  produces  some  diamonds, 
Java  ranks  next  to  Cuba  in  the  production  of  cane 
sugar.  And  Malaysia  is  rapidly  becoming  the 
foremost  rubber  producing  country  of  the  world. 
Java  straw  hats  are  shipped  to  America  by  the 
hundred  thousand.  America  also  buys  from 
Malaysia  vast  quantities  of  pepper,  tea,  peanuts, 
cocoanuts,  rattan,  tobacco,  and  quinine. 


5 


POLITICAL  DIVISIONS 


British  In  the  territory  known  as  Malaysia, 

Malaysia  Great  Britain  controls  the  Malay  Pe- 
ninsula from  the  elbow  downward. 
This  territory  is  divided  into  the  Straits  Settle- 
ments, the  Federated  Malay  States,  and  other 
states  under  British  protection.  The  Straits  Set- 
tlements get  their  name  from  the  fact  that  they 
are  located  on  the  Straits  of  Malacca.  They  are 
Singapore  Island,  Malacca,  The  Bindings,  Province 
Wellesley,  and  Penang  Island.  These  are  gov- 
erned as  a  Crown  Colony  with  a  Governor  ap- 
pointed by  the  King.  To  these  settlements  have 
been  added  as  parts  of  the  colony  Christmas 
Islands,  the  Cocos  Islands,  and  the  colony  of  La- 
buan,  the  last  being  off  the  west  coast  of  Borneo. 

The  Federated  Malay  States  are  the  native 
states  of  Perak,  Selangor,  Negri  Sembilan,  and 
Pahang.  These  have  their  native  Sultans,  but 
they  are  controlled  by  the  Residents  acting  under 
the  Governor  of  the  Straits  Settlements,  who  is 
also  High  Commissioner  for  the  Federated  Malay 
States. 

In  addition  to  these  there  are  on  the  peninsula 
the  states  of  Johore,  Kedah,  Perils,  Kelantan,  and 
Trengannu.  These  are  also  governed  by  Residents 
acting  under  the  Governor  of  the  Straits  Settle- 
ments. 


British  Great  Britain  also  controls  British 
Borneo  North  Borneo.  This  territory  comprises 
thirty-one  thousand  square  miles  on  the 
north  side  of  Borneo.  The  territory  is  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  British  North  Borneo  Com- 
pany, being  held  under  grants  from  the  Sultans  of 
Brunei  and  Sulu.    The  territory  is  administered 


G 


by  a  Governor  in  Borneo  and  a  Court  of  Directors 
in  London. 

In  January,  1906,  the  native  Sultan  of  Brunei 
handed  over  his  country  of  about  4,000  square 
miles  on  the  northwest  side  of  Borneo  to  Great 
Britain. 

In  1842  the  Sultan  of  Brunei  gave  to  Sir  James 
Brooks  a  grant  of  land  on  the  west  side  of  Borneo. 
Various  other  concessions  were  made  from  time 
to  time  until  this  country  has  grown  to  be  an  in- 
dependent kingdom  known  as  Sarawak,  with  42,- 
000  square  miles  of  land  and  a  population  of  500,- 
000  people.  The  ruler  is  His  Highness  Charles 
Vyner  Brooks,  The  Radja.  This  country  is  under 
the  protection  of  Great  Britain. 

British  Until  September  12th,  1914,  the 

New  Guinea  island  of  New  Guinea  was  divided 
or  Papua  into  three  parts;  one  belonging  to 
Holland,  one  to  Germany  and  one 
belonging  to  Great  Britain.  But  in  1914  the  Aus- 
tralian troops  captured  the  territory  belonging  to 
Germany  and  known  as  Kaiser  Wilhelm  Land,  and 
since  that  time  it  has  been  administered  as  was 
the  other  part  of  British  New  Guinea,  from  Aus- 
tralia, through  a  Lieutenant  Governor. 


Netherlands  Holland  controls  all  of  Sumatra, 
Indies  Java,  two-thirds  of  Borneo,  half  of 

Timor,  Celebes,  one-third  of  New 
Guinea,  and  nearly  all  of  the  smaller  islands  of 
the  Archipelago. 

The  colonies  are  governed  through  a  Governor 
General  residing  in  Java.  Batavia  is  the  capital. 
The  islands  are  divided  into  residencies,  with  a 
Resident  and  an  Assistant  Resident  in  charge. 
Holland  utilizes  in  a  large  measure  the  native  gov- 
ernmental machinery,  under  the  direction  of  the 


7 


Residents.  There  is  a  standing  army  of  about  50,- 
000  soldiers,  probably  one-fifth  of  whom  are  Euro- 
peans. The  colonial  navy  consists  of  fifty  men- 
of-war  and  smaller  ships. 


Portugese  Timor  is  one  of  the  largest  of  the 
Timor  smaller  islands,  having  12,593  square 
miles,  and  a  population  of  600,000. 
By  the  treaty  of  1859  the  island  was  divided  be- 
tween Portugal  and  Holland.  The  Portugese  part 
was  formerly  governed  from  the  Portugese  colony 
of  Macao  in  China,  but  since  1896  it  has  been  an 
independent  colony. 


8 


A  Malay  Mosque 


PRINCIPAL  CITIES 


The  following  are  the  principal  cities  of  Malay- 
sia. Where  the  figures  are  given  in  round  num- 
bers they  are  estimates : 


Europeans  Asiatics 

Totals 

City 

Country 

&  Eurasians 

Singapore  Isl. 

Straits  Settlements 

8,000 

292,000 

300,000 

Penang   :  si. 

<<  «< 

2,500 

147,500 

150,000 

Malacca 

500 

24,500 

25,000 

Kuala  T^umpor  Federated    Malay    States  400 

39,000 

39,400 

Palembang 

Sumatra 

300 

69,700 

70,000 

Me  dan 

600 

39,400 

40,000 

Batavia 

Java 

18,000 

120,551 

138,551 

Semarang 

5,126 

91,544 

96,660 

Soerabaya 

15,000 

141,752 

156,752 

Soerakarta 

1,572 

116,806 

118,378 

Kuching 

Sarawak 

lOO 

10,000 

10,100 

Pontianak 

Dutch  Borneo 

20O 

14,000 

14,200 

Macassar 

Celebes 

200 

26,200 

26,400 

9 


STATE  OF  CIVILIZATION 


The  Malay  At  the  southern  tip  of  the  Malay 
Peninsula  Peninsula  lies  the  city  of  Singapore, 
a  town  of  three  hundred  thousand 
people  speaking  a  hundred  different  languages. 
This  is  one  of  the  great  cross-roads  of  the  world. 
Here  you  find  the  thatched  cabin  of  the  native 
Malay  and  the  palaces  of  the  wealthy  Chinese. 
Two-wheeled,  man-pulled  go-carts,  called  rick- 
shaws, compete  with  the  electric  tram  and  the 
motor  taxi-cab. 

This  is  the  tenth  largest  shipping  port  of  the 
world.  Every  ship  which  sails  between  Asiatic 
ports  and  Europe  must  pass  through  the  harbor 
of  Singapore.  To  this  port  come  thousands  of 
small  steamers  and  sailing  ships  from  all  the 
islands  clear  down  to  Australia,  v/ith  their  car- 
goes of  tropical  produce  to  be  forwarded  to  Europe 
and  America.  In  turn  they  carry  back  to  the 
islands  cheap  cotton  cloth,  hardv/are,  machinery, 
canned  goods,  and  automobiles. 

Stretching  out  behind  Singapore,  like  the  tail 
of  a  comet,  is  the  Malay  Peninsula.  The  eastern 
side  of  this  territory  has  neither  good  harbors  nor 
railroads.  Therefore  the  country  has  been  back- 
ward in  development.  Here  and  there  are  the  be- 
ginnings of  settlements  where  plantations  are 
growing  and  where  mines  have  been  opened.  But 
for  the  most  part  the  land  is  covered  with  jungle. 

Some  twenty-five  years  ago  the  British  began 
to  build  a  railroad  system  on  the  western  side  of 
the  peninsula.  Just  as  the  transcontinental  rail- 
roads of  America  half  a  century  ago  opened  our 
great  western  prairies  to  civilization,  so  this  rail- 
way in  Malaysia  opened  to  cultivation  the  hinter- 
land of  Singapore.    Within  the  memory  of  Euro- 


10 


peans  now  living*  in  Malaysia  this  western  shore 
of  the  peninsula  was  infested  with  fierce  Malay 
pirates  who  did  not  hesitate  to  attack  Chinese  and 
European  ships  along  the  coast.  There  were  no 
means  of  transportation  into  the  interior  except 
by  canoes  along  the  shallow  rivers.  Today  one 
can  take  the  railway  at  Singapore  and  travel  all 
the  way  up  the  peninsula  and  across  to  Bangkok 
in  Siam,  a  journey  of  three  days. 

All  along  the  railway  tens  of  thousands  of  acres 
of  jungle  have  been  cleared  to  make  room  for 
plantations  of  cocoanuts  and  rubber.  Great  areas 
have  been  dug  over  and  vast  fortunes  have  been 
gained  from  the  wonderful  beds  of  tin  ore  found 
in  this  section.  A  whole  net-work  of  beautiful 
carriage  roads  spreads  itself  over  this  territory, 
and  cities  are  springing  up  everywhere.  Through 
the  government  and  the  mission  schools  tens  of 
thousands  of  boys  and  girls  are  being  taught  to 
write  and  speak  the  English  language,  and  these 
in  turn  are  Ibuilding  up  a  new  civilization  of  Euro- 
pean type  and  Asiatic  flavor. 

Sumatra  Sumatra  has  a  high  mountain  range 
running  the  full  length  of  the  island, 
with  a  short,  steep  slope  to  the  west  and  a  long, 
gentle  slope  towards  the  east  to  the  Straits  of 
Malacca.  There  is  one  good  harbor  at  Padang  on 
the  west,  one  on  the  north  end  at  Acheen,  and  two 
on  the  east  side.  Palembang,  in  the  south  center 
on  the  east,  is  the  principal  port  for  the  southern 
half  of  the  island,  and  Medan  for  the  northern 
half. 

Two  thousand  miles  of  railways  have  been  sur- 
veyed following  the  east  side  of  the  mountain 
range  throughout  the  whole  length,  with  the  pur- 
pose of  opening  that  great  fertile  plain  in  the  in- 
terior, running  side  lines  to  the  east  coast  at 


11 


Palembang  and  Medan  and  half  a  dozen  other 
lesser  ports.  Work  is  already  progressing  and 
several  hundred  miles  are  completed.  Palembang 
is  not  only  on  the  railway,  but  it  is  located  on  a 
great  river  which  has  numerous  branches  navi- 
gable for  small  ships  and  flat-bottomed  boats  for 
fifteen  hundred  miles.  Trade  is  not  extensive  as 
yet,  but  within  a  few  years  this  city  will  probably 
have  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people.  The 
country  behind  is  marvelously  fertile,  as  well  as 
having  large  deposits  of  minerals  and  oils. 

Medan  in  the  north,  on  the  east  side,  is  a  town 
of  about  40,000.  It  is  a  port  of  call  for  the  ships 
plying  between  the  Dutch  islands  and  Holland. 
Four  lines  of  railway  run  out  into  the  interior. 
Just  to  the  north  lie  the  great  oil  fields.  In  the 
mountains  behind  are  the  coal  deposits.  And  for 
a  hundred  miles  to  the  south  the  whole  country 
is  planted  with  tobacco,  sugar,  and  rubber.  Within 
the  past  ten  years  land  values  in  the  city  have 
increased  four  fold.  Many  millions  of  dollars  of 
Dutch,  German,  British,  and  American  capital 
have  been  invested  in  this  section  within  the  last 
few  years. 

Java  Java  has  had  a  native  but  real  civiliza- 
tion for  two  thousand  years.  The  Java- 
nese have  had  their  written  language  and  litera- 
ture for  many  centuries.  The  kingdoms  of  olden 
time  had  their  standing  armies  and  their  fleets 
which  took  tribute  from  the  surrounding  islands. 
More  than  three  hundred  years  ago  the  Portu- 
gese began  coming  to  Java  for  spices.  Then  came 
the  Dutch,  and  then  the  EngHsh.  For  four  years, 
during  the  later  Napoleonic  wars,  from  1811  to 
1816,  the  English  held  possession  of  Java,  but 
when  the  final  treaty  was  signed  England  re- 
turned the  island  to  Holland. 


12 


For  more  than  a  hundred  years  the  Dutch  have 
reckoned  the  whole  of  Java  as  their  possession 
and  have  governed  accordingly.  Great  changes 
have  taken  place.  During  the  past  century  the 
population  has  increased  from  six  millions  to 
thirty-six  millions.  A  large  part  of  the  island  has 
been  brought  under  cultivation.  Thousands  of 
roads  have  been  made,  and  two  thousand  miles  of 
railways  have  been  laid.  Nearly  every  village  is 
connected  up  with  the  cities  by  telephone.  There 
is  a  very  complete  postal  system,  and  daily  news- 
papers in  Dutch,  Malay,  and  Chinese  are  published 
in  all  the  large  cities.  Three  hundred  thousand 
native  children  are  being  taught  in  the  vernacular 
schools,  and  in  the  Dutch  language  there  is  a  com- 
plete grammar  and  high  school  system.  There 
are  also  several  advanced  schools  teaching  medi- 
cine, engineering,  and  military  sciences. 


Borneo,  In   Borneo,   Celebes,   and  New 

Celebes,  Guinea   western    civilization  has 

New  Guinea  made  but  little  progress.  In  Sara- 
wak, Rajah  Brook  has  established 
a  model  little  city  of  Kuching,  and  up  the  Kuching 
River  are  several  companies  opening  the  country. 
Also  on  the  Rejang  River  the  Chinese  are  plant- 
ing pepper  and  rubber.  So  also  in  British  North 
Borneo  there  are  the  beginnings  of  settlements. 
In  the  eastern  part  of  Borneo  great  oil  fields  are 
being  worked.  The  north  of  Celebes  has  been 
largely  Christianized  by  the  Dutch  missionaries, 
and  there  are  plantations  and  mines.  New  Guinea 
has  a  few  open  spots,  but  is  mostly  jungle.  In  all 
these  islands  there  are  no  railways  and  few 
wagon  roads. 


13 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  MALAYSIA 


An  understanding  of  the  peoples  of  Malaysia 
calls  for  the  classifying  of  them  under  the  two 
heads  of  indigenous  and  immigrants.  The  im- 
migrants come  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  but 
especially  from  India  and  China.  The  indigenous 
peoples  are  all  of  the  general  Malayan  stock.  All 
are  small  people,  averaging  somewhere  about  four 
feet  ten  to  five  feet  three  inches  tall,  with  black 
hair  running  from  woolly  to  straight,  and  with  a 
coffee-brown  complexion.  Their  civilization  varies 
from  the  barbarism  of  the  tree-dwellers  to  that  of 
the  advanced  Javanese. 

Tree  On  the  Malay  Peninsula,  living  most- 

Dwellers  ly  far  up  in  the  mountain  fastnesses, 
are  some  twenty-five  thousand  or  so  of 
a  pygmy  race  of  people  who  make  their  homes  in 
the  tops  of  trees  or  in  rude  shelters  under  over- 
hanging rocks.  Ethnologists  have  grouped  these 
people  into  three  families,  the  Semang,  the  Sakais 
and  the  Jakuns.  These  three  groups  resemble 
each  other  in  that  they  are  about  four  feet  ten 
inches  tall,  and  are  of  the  same  brown  color,  but 
the  hair  reveals  radically  different  origin.  The 
Semang  have  the  distinctly  negroid  cast  of  fea- 
tures and  the  kinky  hair.  The  Sakais  have  wavy 
hair  and  their  features  resemble  the  Veddas  of 
Ceylon.  The  Jakuns  have  straight  hair,  but 
otherwise  seem  to  be  rather  closely  allied  to  the 
negroid  stock. 

The  pygmys  make  for  themselves  rude  shelters 
of  grass  or  palm  leaves  in  the  branches  of  large 
trees,  they  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  homes.  They 
have  traditions  which  prevent  them  from  living 
more  than  five  days  in  one  place.    They  live  in 


14 


small  detached  groups,  seldom  attempting  to  plant 
anything,  but  finding  their  food  from  the  rivers 
and  the  forests.  They  are  very  skillful  hunters, 
using  as  weapons  the  spear  and  the  blow-pipe. 
The  blow-pipe  is  a  glorified  pea-shooter  through 
which  they  blow  a  small  poisoned  arrow.  They 
will  kill  a  bird  or  animal  at  a  distance  of  seventy- 
five  yards.  Even  big  game  is  hunted  with  the 
blow-pipe.  These  folks  are  exceedingly  shy,  and 
are  rarely  seen  by  white  people,  or  even  by  the 
other  natives.  Civilization  has  naturally  made 
little  progress  among  them,  and  their  social  life  is 
of  the  most  primitive  sort. 

The  Malays  The  Malay  peoples  have  given 
their  name  to  the  whole  archipelago, 
and  yet  whence  they  came  is  a  question  which  has 
never  been  satisfactorily  answered.  It  seems 
probable  that  the  Malay  comes  from  continental 
Asia,  but  that  he  has  developed  certain  differences 
of  character  through  different  environment  and 
intermarriage  with  native  peoples.  There  is  a 
pretty  well  authenticated  tradition  that  the  Ma- 
lays were  originally  a  part  of  a  great  Mongolian 
or  Chinese  army  that  became  separated  froni  the 
rest  of  their  people  on  an  expedition  against 
northeastern  India.  Not  being  able  to  get  back 
home  and  not  strong  enough  to  settle  down  in  the 
country,  they  followed  the  line  of  mountain  and 
forest  to  the  southeast,  plundering  and  carrying 
off  women  folks,  until  they  reached  the  lower  end 
of  the  peninsula  and  the  middle  of  Sumatra.  From 
there  they  gradually  spread  over  the  whole  of  the 
archipelago.  It  is  supposed  that  they  reached 
Malaysia  somewhere  between  1000  and  2000  years 
before  the  Christian  era,  though  some  place  their 
coming  at  a  little  before  the  time  of  Christ. 

"Their  character  has  generally  been  rated 
rather  low  by  occidental  observers,  but  the  deceit, 


16 


untrustworthiness,  uneveness,  treachery,  and 
other  bad  quahties  attributed  to  them  have  been 
much  exaggerated,  and  the  depth  of  feeling,  honor 
and  moral  and  intellectual  possibilities  corre- 
spondingly underestimated." 

"The  Malay  is  a  cheery  but  irresolute  man,  ex- 
ceedingly polite,  with  a  certain  reserve,  and  proud 
silence.  He  will  not  suffer  his  dignity  to  be  af- 
fronted, and  is  quick  to  resent  insult.  He  is  quick 
to  acknowledge  kindness,  and  is  by  no  means  the 
worst  man  in  the  world.  His  worst  characteristics 
are  a  certain  inexplicable  moodiness  and  an  indis- 
position for  laborious  toil." 

The  Malays  would  be  classified  as  semi-civilized. 
They  have  had  their  written  language,  their  lit- 
erature, and  their  fixed  forms  of  government  for 
many  centuries.  They  have,  however,  shown  little 
desire  for  progress.  They  still  live  largely  by 
hunting  and  fishing  and  primitive  agriculture. 
Their  homes  are  mostly  built  close  to  or  over  the 
water,  high  up  on  piles,  where  the  canoe  can  be 
anchored  under  the  house. 

While  the  peoples  of  all  the  islands  are  of  Ma- 
layan stock,  yet  there  are  some  four  or  five  mil- 
lions who  are  classified  as  Malay  proper.  These 
live  all  through  the  Malay  Peninsula,  and  in  the 
southern  half  of  the  eastern  part  of  Sumatra,  and 
all  about  the  coasts  of  all  the  other  islands. 

Battaksof  The  Battak  stock  includes  a  large 
Sumatra  part  of  the  population  of  the  interior 
of  Sumatra,  though  the  Battaks 
proper  live  on  the  high  lands  of  the  interior  of 
northern  Sumatra.  These  people  are  somewhat 
darker,  taller,  and  stronger  than  the  coast  Malays. 
They  are  a  bright,  cheery,  fun-loving,  singing 
people,  more  ambitious,  more  eager  for  learning, 
and  quicker  at  catching  an  idea  or  of  expressing 


16 


&F  THE 


themselves  clearly  than  probably  any  other  of  the 
native  people  of  Malaysia. 

But  the  Battaks  present  a  strange  contrast. 
On  the  one  hand  they  can  be  classified  as  semi- 
civilized.  They  cultivate  the  soil  with  plows,  they 
breed  large  herds  of  cattle  and  horses,  they  are 
skillful  in  metal  working,  and  they  have  a  written 
language.  On  the  other  hand  there  exists  debt 
slavery,  permissive  polygamy,  and  cannibalism. 
Their  religion  is  animism,  or  spirit  worship,  with 
traces  of  early  influence  of  Hinduism. 

Their  type  of  house  differs  materially  from  that 
of  the  Malays,  though  they  build  on  piles.  Many 
of  these  people  have  become  Christians,  but  where 
Christianity  has  not  yet  gone  their  little  villages 
are  surrounded  by  mud  walls  ten  feet  thick  and 
fifteen  feet  high.  They  build  out  on  the  open 
places  where  they  can  watch  for  their  enemies 
from  behind  a  screen  of  bamboo  planted  on  the 
top  of  the  walls. 

DyaJks  of  Dyaks  is  a  general  name  given  to  the 
Borneo  original  inhabitants  of  Borneo.  They 
might  be  further  classified  as  Sea- 
Dyaks  and  Land-Dyaks,  the  latter  living  well  up 
in  the  interior.  "Physically  and  linguistically 
they  belong  to  the  Malayan  race,  but  there  are 
numerous  variations  from  the  characteristic 
type." 

*'Dyak  culture  runs  all  the  way  from  the  sav- 
agery of  the  mountainous  interior  to  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  coast,  where  under  Javanese,  Bugi,  and 
Chinese  influence,  the  artistic  and  industrial  abili- 
ties possessed  more  or  less  by  all  the  tribes  are 
seen  to  better  advantage,  and  many  states  and 
sultanates  have  from  time  to  time  flourished.  The 
Dyaks  have  taken  to  Islam  less  kindly  than  their 
kindred,  the  Malays  proper,  and  some  of  the  un- 
civilized tribes  of  the  interior  probably  preserve 


17 


traits  of  original  Malayan  heathenism  elsewhere 
lost.  Intellectually,  morally,  and  socially  the 
Dyak  is  perhaps  superior  to  the  typical  Malay,  as 
he  also  exceeds  him  in  stature  and  often  in  good 
looks/' 

*'The  Dyaks  are  also  less  restrained  and  given 
to  more  physical  exercise  than  the  Malay  proper. 
The  paddle,  the  blow-gun,  the  spear,  bamboo 
bridges,  cloth  weaving,  and  metal  work  represent 
some  of  the  out-crops  of  Dyak  genius.  The  Dyaks 
plant  some  rice,  but  support  themselves  largely 
by  hunting,  fishing,  and  gathering  jungle  fruits. 
Headhunting  and  cannibalism,  for  which  the 
Dyaks  were  once  so  famous,  are  rapidly  disap- 
pearing." 

The  People  Three  races  of  people  live  in  Java, 
of  Java        though  they  are  all  of  Malayan  stock. 

The  Sundanese  live  in  the  western 
part  and  number  about  twelve  millions,  the  Java- 
nese occupy  the  central  part  and  number  about 
twenty-one  millions,  and  the  Madurese  have  the 
extreme  eastern  end  and  the  island  of  Madura 
and  number  about  two  millions.  There  is  little 
difference  in  the  appearance  of  these  peoples.  The 
Javanese  are  slightly  taller  than  the  other  two 
and  their  features  are  finer  and  show  more  rela- 
tion to  the  British  India  influences  of  early  days. 

Early  missionaries  of  the  Buddhist  and  Brahm- 
in faiths  coming  from  India  had  a  profound  in- 
fluence upon  the  civilization  of  the  Javanese, 
molding  in  a  good  measure  their  religious  life, 
their  political  development,  their  language,  and 
their  literature.  Buddhism  was  probably  intro- 
duced before  the  Christian  era,  but  by  414  A.  D., 
when  Fa  Hien,  the  Chinese  Buddhist,  visited  Java, 
he  wrote  that  little  Buddhism  could  be  found. 
During  the  Buddhist  period  were  built  many  beau- 
tiful temples,  the  one  remaining  practically  intact 


18 


as  it  was  found  buried  under  a  great  mound  of 
earth  being  one  of  the  most  beautiful  pieces  of 
Buddhist  art  in  the  world.  Wallace,  the  natural- 
ist, says  that  the  work  on  the  great  pyramid  of 
Egypt  sinks  into  insignificance  when  compared 
with  the  work  on  this  temple  of  Boro  Budur  in 
middle  Java, 

Buddhism  in  Java  was  succeeded  by  Brahmin- 
ism,  which  continued  until  the  Mohammedan  conr 
quest  in  1475-79.  Nominally  the  Javanese  are  all 
Mohammedans,  but  their  religion  is  not  of  the 
fanatical  type  of  Mohammedanism  found  in 
Arabia.  Ten  thousand  pilgrims  go  from  Java 
every  year  to  Mecca,  and  these  are  tightening  the 
hold  of  Mohammedanism  upon  the  rest  of  the 
people. 

The  Javanese  written  language  dates  very  far 
back.  Their  old  literature  is  in  the  Kawi  language. 
It  is  not  known  when  it  was  introduced  into  Java, 
Their  modem  language  "is  very  profuse  in  words 
expressing  the  most  profound,  delicate,  and  com- 
plicated shades  of  meaning."  In  general  the 
Javanese  are  a  very  proud  yet  gentle  people,  show- 
ing great  respect  for  authority.  Until  very  re- 
cently there  has  been  little  desire  for  progress,  in 
fact  civilization  seems  to  have  been  at  a  dead 
stand-still  since  the  Mohammedan  conquest,  ex- 
cept where  there  was  forced  labor  under  the  old 
Dutch  "Culture  System."  Eecently,  however, 
there  has  been  evidence  of  a  real  desire  to  get  into 
line  with  the  general  drift  of  progress  which  has 
marked  all  the  peoples  of  Asia. 

The  People  "All  the  natives  of  Celebes  speak 
of  Celebes  languages  of  the  Malay  stock.  The 
language  of  the  Minnehassans 
shows  considerable  proximity  to  the  Philippine 
dialects.  Culturally  the  northeast  is  likewise 
separated  from  the  rest  of  the  island  taken  as  a 


19 


unit.  The  Minnehassans  appear  to  be  related  to 
the  Tagalog  and  the  other  Philippine  tribes,  and 
even  sugg-est  Japanese  features.  At  all  events 
they  may  safely  be  regarded  as  alien  immigrants 
from  the  north.  So  far  as  the  remainder  of  the 
population  is  concerned,  it  may  be  i)ositively 
stated  that  nowadays  there  are  no  traces  of 
negroid  or  Papuan  race.  The  Toradja  are  very 
closely  related  to  the  Dyaks  of  Borneo,  the  Bat- 
taks  of  Sumatra,  and  the  Philippine  Igorotes. 
They  are  very  short  in  stature,  about  five  feet  for 
men  and  four  feet  nine  inches  for  women,  have 
wavy  hair,  and  present  other  traits  showing  kin- 
ship with  the  Vaddahs  of  Ceylon  and  the  Senoi  of 
Malacca.  They  have  very  primitive  homes  and 
are  also  cave  dwellers.'' 

"The  Macassars  practice  Islam,  but  much  de- 
graded by  local  superstitions  and  beast  worship, 
and  the  abject  fear  of  local  deities.  They  have  a 
literature,  chiefly  romance  and  drama,  besides 
works  of  religion  and  law  translated  from  the 
Arabic  and  originally  brought  to  them  by  the 
missionaries  of  Islam." 


The  People  "In  New  Guinea  are  many  tribes 

of  New  Guinea  differing  in  appearance  and  lan- 
guage, but  as  a  whole  they  con- 
stitute the  Papuan  race,  which  has  been  classified 
as  a  branch  of  the  Negro  race.  With  the  Papuans, 
however,  the  nose  is  usually  prominent  and  the 
hair  frizzly  rather  than  woolly.  The  color  varies 
from  sooty  brown  to  black.  In  general  the  Pap- 
uans are  impulsive,  demonstrative,  and  less  ill- 
natured  than  popular  accounts  imply.  Some  prac- 
tice fishing,  and  others  a  primitive  agriculture, 
and  many  excel  in  decorative  arts.  There  is  prac- 
tically no  native  political  organization,  chieftain- 
ship is  unknown,  or  at  most  uncommon." 

"Racially  the  natives  belong  to  at  least  two  in- 


20 


digenous  types,  the  Pygmy  and  the  Papuan.  In 
addition  we  have  to  deal  with  relatively  recent 
Melanesian  immigrants  who  have,  generally 
speaking,  ousted  the  Papuans  from  the  islands 
and  coastal  districts.  Both  the  Papuans  and  the 
Melanesians  are  essentially  frizzly-haired,  but 
among  the  Melanesians  curly  and  even  wavy  hair 
is  not  uncommon.  The  stature  of  the  Papuans 
varies  considerably  in  different  regions.  The 
average  is  about  five  feet  six  inches." 

'*Two  entirely  distinct  groups  of  languages  exist 
in  Papua,  the  Melanesian  and  the  Papuan.  The 
Melanesian  group  are  related  to  one  another  and 
to  those  spoken  in  Melanesia.  Those  designated 
as  Papuan  differ  so  widely  as  to  be  not  merely 
mutually  unintelligible,  but  to  present  radically 
distinct  morphological  traits." 

"Culturally  the  natives  of  Papua  differ  almost 
as  much  as  in  point  of  speech.  Until  the  coming 
of  the  whites  all  lived  in  the  stone  age,  but  were 
able  to  execute  extraordinary  carvings  with  the 
aid  of  their  crude  implements.  They  are  pri- 
marily agriculturists.  Hunting  is  relatively  un- 
important. The  form  of  dwelling  varies,  but  pile 
dwellings  are  exceedingly  common.  Their  wea- 
pons are  the  spear,  bow  and  arrows,  and  club." 

The  India  and  China  are  overcrowded 

Immigrants  and  the  people  live  on  a  very  low 
economic  plane.  But  they  are  be- 
ginning to  realize  that  distant  only  a  few  days' 
journey  by  ship  lies  a  land  of  boundless  resources 
where  they  are  welcome  and  where  they  can  earn 
wages  greatly  in  excess  of  those  in  their  home 
land.  Already  upwards  of  a  hundred  thousand 
Indians  and  three  hundred  thousand  Chinese  are 
pouring  into  Malaysia  every  year.  Many  of  these 
return  to  their  old  homes  after  laying  by  sufficient 


21 


to  raise  their  economic  and  social  standing  in  their 
native  village.  But  these  returning  immigrants 
spread  the  story  of  the  opportunities  in  Malaysia 
and  the  stream  is  ever  increasing  in  volume.  It  is 
estimated  that  within  another  decade  there  v^ill 
be  nearly  a  million  a  year  seeking  homes  in 
Malaysia. 

Many  of  the  immigrants  returning  to  their 
homes  find  themselves  cramped  by  the  social  and 
religious  traditions  of  their  native  lands,  and  they 
go  again  to  remain  permanently,  v^here  there  is 
no  political  oppression,  where  the  coolie  can  rise 
to  the  limit  of  his  capacity,  and  where  the  dead 
hand  of  a  religious  tyranny  fixes  no  social  bar- 
riers. Thus  the  proportion  of  the  immigrants 
who  become  permanent  settlers  is  steadily  in- 
creasing. 

These  islands  are  practically  the  only  place  left 
in  the  world  where  the  overflow  from  India  and 
China  is  welcomed.  More  and  more  the  people  of 
these  lands  are  awakening  to  the  possibilities  of 
freedom  and  comfort  in  these  great  natural  store- 
houses. The  fear  of  the  unknown  is  disappearing, 
and  within  a  relatively  few  years  these  great  jun- 
gle wildernesses  will  be  the  homes  of  populations 
rivaling  those  of  many  of  the  smaller  countries 
of  Europe. 

From  The  Indians  who  come  to  Malaysia 
India  are  mostly  Tamils  from  the  Madras  Presi- 
dency and  Ceylon.  Bishop  Oldham  de- 
scribes them  as  "noisy,  exceedingly  talkative, 
faithful,  devout,  obedient  to  orders,  capable  of 
patiently  bearing  much  hardship."  They  are  of 
the  clinging  rather  than  of  the  venturesome  type. 
They  prefer  to  accept  a  fixed  scale  of  wages  lead- 
ing to  a  pension,  rather  than  to  risk  the  uncer- 
tainties of  a  personal  business  venture.   The  im- 


22 


migrants  are  mostly  Tamils,  because  the  Govern- 
ment of  British  India  permits  recruiting  agents 
seeking  labor  for  the  estates  in  Malaysia  to  pay 
the  passages  of  Tamils,  but  of  no  other  class.  The 
children  of  the  Indian  laborer  find  their  way  into 
the  English  schools  and  from  there  into  clerical 
work  for  mercantile  firms  and  into  government 
service  in  connection  with  the  courts,  the  rail- 
ways, post-ofl5ces,  telegraphs,  and  telephones. 

From  The  Chinese,  on  the  other  hand,  prefer 
China    to  go  into  business  on  their  own  account. 

It  is  the  Chinese  who  gather  up  all  the 
produce  of  the  native  peoples  and  prepare  it  for 
the  European  markets.  In  turn  the  Chinese  are 
the  shopkeepers  and  distributing  agents  for  Eu- 
ropean goods  into  the  villages  everywhere.  The 
European  has  little  commercial  intercourse  with 
the  native  peoples  and  little  retail  trade.  All  this 
is  done  by  the  enterprising  Chinese.  The  Chinese 
laborer  commands  wages  from  fifty  to  a  hundred 
percent  higher  than  any  other  class  of  laborers. 
But  the  Chinese  do  not  long  remain  laborers.  Their 
natural  capacity  for  business  soon  places  them  in 
the  merchant  class.  Many  of  them  have  accumu- 
lated great  fortunes,  and  many  of  their  homes  are 
palatial. 


RELIGIONS 


Apart  from  Christianity  there  are  four  relig- 
ious systems  in  Malaysia :  Animisn,  or  spirit  wor- 
ship, Mohammedanism,  Hinduism,  and  Buddho- 
Confucianism.  The  pagan  races  are  all  followers 
of  Animism  of  some  sort.  The  Malays,  Javanese, 
and  most  of  the  peoples  living  about  the  coast 
regions  of  all  the  islands  are  Mohammedans.  The 
immigrants  from  India  bring  their  Hinduism  with 
them,  and  the  Chinese  practise  the  mixed  Buddho- 
Confucian-Taoism  of  China. 


Animism  Animism  is  a  vague  term  applied  to 
all  the  unorganized  forms  of  belief  and 
worship  among  the  primitive  peoples.  It  cannot 
be  accurately  defined,  for  it  varies  with  every 
tribe  and  land.  In  a  general  way  it  includes  cer- 
tain religious  ideas  which  are  common  to  a  greater 
or  less  degree  to  practically  all  tribes. 

To  the  animist  there  are  three  worlds.  In  the 
upper  world  dwell  the  gods.  Here  they  live  just 
as  men  live,  with  their  wives  and  children.  They 
are  interested  in  the  same  things  as  interest  mor- 
tals. They  play  and  gamble,  wage  wars,  have 
slaves  and  cattle,  love  and  hate,  and  enjoy  them- 
selves in  very  human  ways.  In  the  middle  world 
is  the  home  of  men,  who  have  been  sent  to  earth 
from  a  sort  of  pre-existence.  In  the  lower  world 
are  the  spirits  and  demons. 

Among  all  the  peoples  there  is  the  belief  in  a 
supreme  creator.  This  being  is  seldom  referred  to 
except  in  prayers  and  incantations.  There  is  no 
definite  concept  as  to  the  nature  of  this  supreme 
being  or  his  immediate  family  or  associates. 
These  superior  beings  are  mere  spectators  of  the 


24 


world  of  human  affairs.  They  neither  help  nor 
hinder,  and  therefore  are  but  little  considered. 
They  are  neither  worshiped  nor  propitiated.  "Be- 
lief in  God  has  been  reduced  by  nature  worship, 
fear  of  spirits,  and  moral  coarseness,  to  a  state 
in  which  it  is  no  longer  recognizable.  The  host  of 
spirits  born  of  fear  thrust  themselves  between 
God  and  man,  and  left  behind  that  faded  image  of 
God,  which  still  throws  a  faint  shadow  on  the 
feelings  of  the  people,  but  not  on  its  thought, 
which  is  therefore  so  full  of  contradictions.  .  .  . 
We  meet  with  the  idea  of  God  as  of  a  dimly-felt 
highest  court  of  appeal,  enthroned  above  all  the 
gods  that  are  known  or  named.'' 

It  is  not  the  supreme  god  who  is  considered,  but 
the  mysterious  forces  of  nature,  for  they  are  more 
feared.  The  greater  danger  calls  for  the  more 
careful  service  and  propitiation.  There  are  spirits 
which  watch  over  the  oceans,  the  rivers,  the  rocks, 
the  harvests,  the  forests,  the  beasts  of  the  field, 
and  the  fowls  of  the  air.  Food,  comfort,  health, 
children,  and  life  itself  are  in  the  hands  of  these 
lower  deities.  At  any  time  one  of  these  may  be- 
come offended  by  lack  of  cosideration  and  then 
there  is  trouble  ahead.  Hence  the  poor  animist 
is  in  a  constant  state  of  fear  and  anxiety. 

''From  a  universal  soul,  an  indestructible  store 
of  life,  living  souls  flow  to  men,  animals,  plants, 
metals,  instruments,  houses,  etc.''  Hence  the  all 
important  question  for  the  animist  is  to  protect 
and  enrich  his  own  soul.  The  accumulation  of 
goods  means  the  increase  of  soul-stuff.  This  soul- 
stuff  is  especially  rich  and  plentiful  about  human 
beings,  and  doubly  so  about  the  human  head. 
Hence  the  taker  of  a  human  head  adds  materially 
to  his  own  soul-stuff,  and  thereby  adds  to  his 
prospects  in  the  world  to  come  as  well  as  to  his 
prestige  here  on  earth." 


25 


Mohammedanism  There  are  nearly  forty  million 
Mohammedans  in  Malaysia. 
Their  faith,  however,  is  greatly  influenced  by  their 
history.  In  the  beginning  they  were  animists. 
Then  they  became  Buddhists.  This  was  super- 
ceded by  centuries  of  Hinduism.  And  lastly  they 
were  won  over  to  Mohammedanism,  not  through 
conviction,  but  through  conquest.  The  govern- 
ment requires  all  to  register  under  some  religious 
classification,  and  naturally  the  vast  majority 
register  as  Mohammedans.  Most  of  them  keep 
up  some  of  the  forms  of  Islam,  but  in  reality  they 
have  only  increased  the  number  of  super-sensual 
beings  to  whom  they  pray.  Trees,  rocks,  fields, 
villages,  all  have  their  patron  spirits.  Diseases 
are  attributed  to  spirits,  which  must  be  propi- 
tiated. Offerings  are  made  to  scripture  charac- 
ters. Joseph  rewards  his  worshippers  with  chil- 
dren, Solomon  with  rank  and  fame,  Moses  with 
bravery,  and  Jesus  with  wisdom.  Worship  is 
offered  at  graves.  Childless  women  bring  flowers 
and  fruit  and  money  as  offerings  to  the  old  cannon 
lying  outside  the  gate  of  Batavia.  In  other  words, 
the  outer  form  of  religion  is  Mohammedanism, 
but  the  heart  beliefs  are  animistic.  Fortune  tel- 
lers and  workers  of  divination  abound  every- 
where. 

Mohammedan  teaching  regarding  the  place  of 
womanhood  and  on  the  marriage  relation  has 
borne  its  natural  fruit  and  the  moral  condition  is 
lower  than  that  of  the  pagan  races.  To  become 
a  Mohammedan  calls  for  merely  the  outward  ac- 
ceptance of  the  theories  and  practices  of  Islam, 
and  has  no  reference  to  any  celaning  up  of  the 
inner  life. 

Hinduism     The  Hinduism  which  the  immigrants 
bring  from  India  is  of  a  very  atten- 
uated form.    Large  numbers  of  Indians  frankly 


26 


break  away  from  all  profession  of  religion  for  th.e 
period  of  their  stay  in  Malaysia  unless  overtaken 
by  some  misfortune,  or  in  case  of  a  wedding  or  a 
birth.  Then  the  priest  is  called  in  for  the  emer- 
gency. In  Malaysia  caste  is  largely  a  dead  letter. 
The  Brahmim  and  the  low-caste  man  rub  elbows 
on  the  street,  ride  in  the  same  trolley  cars,  and 
sit  together  in  the  same  offices,  as  often  as  not  the 
Brahmim  taking  orders  from  the  low-caste  chief 
clerk. 

Vigorous  efforts  are  being  made  in  the  larger 
cities  to  hold  the  educated  young  men  to  their 
Indian  faith,  but  Hinduism  cannot  endure  the 
democracy  of  the  public  schools.  The  low-caste 
man  who  dared  not  allow  his  shadow  to  fall  upon 
the  pathway  of  a  high-caste  man  in  India  walks 
the  streets  of  Malaysia  with  his  head  erect.  His 
sons  have  an  equal  chance  to  "make  good"  in  com- 
mercial life  and  his  daughters  have  no  zenana  to 
dread.  It  is  therefore  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
the  religious  bondage  of  Hinduism  loses  much  of 
its  hold  upon  the  people. 


Buddho-  Like  the  Indians  the  Chinese 

Confucianism  leave  much  of  their  religious" 
theory  and  practice  behind  them 
when  they  come  to  Malaysia.  Ancestral  worship 
is  practiced  almost  universally  in  the  homes,  and 
offerings  are  made  in  the  temples  on  the  occasion 
of  special  needs;  but  the  Chinese  religion  cannot 
be  said  to  flourish  among  these  peoples  away  from 
home.  There  are  no  schools  to  teach  the  youth 
the  doctrines  of  their  faith.  Practically  all  that 
the  people  know  religiously  is  "custom.''  And 
even  the  religious  customs  brought  from  China 
are  being  steadily  modified  by  contact  with  the 
customs  of  the  other  peoples  of  Malaysia, 


27 


28 


29 


GENERAL  MISSIONARY  WORK. 


Mission  work  has  been  carried  on  among  the 
peoples  of  Malaysia  since  1603.  In  many  sections 
the  results  have  not  been  very  gratifying,  owing 
partly  to  the  methods  adopted  and  partly  to  the 
opposition  of  the  government  to  the  use  of  ag- 
gressive measures  in  evangelization.  Neverthe- 
less these  islands  have  seen  some  of  the  greatest 
religious  mass  movements  of  modern  times.  More 
than  six  hundred  thousand  of  the  native  races 
have  become  Christians.  Of  these  about  three 
hundred  thousand  have  been  turned  over  to  the 
care  of  the  government,  which  provides  regular 
pastors  for  them,  and  hence  they  do 
Religious  not  appear  in  the  statistical  tables 
Movements,  of  the  various  missionary  societies. 

The  whole  of  northern  Celebes  is  re- 
garded as  entirely  Christianized.  In  the  north  of 
Sumatra  the  German  mission  has  a  hundred  thou- 
sand converts.  And  in  Java  there  are  twenty- 
eight  thousand  Mohammedans  who  have  turned 
away  from  the  false  prophet.  This  is  the  largest 
body  of  converts  from  Mohammedanism  to  be 
found  anywhere  in  the  world. 

Twenty-five  American,  British,  and  European 
missionary  societies  are  working  throughout  the 
Malay  Archipeligo.  This  includes  the  British 
and  Foreign  Bible  Society.  The  Young  Womens' 
and  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations,  and  the 
Salvation  Army. 

It  was  at  Malacca  on  the  west  coast  of  the 
Malay  Peninsula  that  Francis  Xavier  laid  down 
his  life  during  his  wonderful  missionary  journey. 
It  was  also  at  Malacca  that  Milne,  Medhurst,  and 
Legge  founded  schools  and  did  evangelistic  work 
while  they  were  learning  the  Chinese  language 
and  waiting  for  the  doors  of  the  Middle  Kingdom 


30 


to  be  opened.  When  these  missionaries  could 
enter  the  Chinese  Empire  the  work  on  the  Penin- 
sula was  abandoned  and  they  withdrew  to  begin 
work  in  China. 

In  1834  the  American  Board  sent  out  two  mis- 
sionaries, Lyman  and  Munson,  to  open  work 
among  the  cannibal  Battak  tribes  in  North  Suma- 
tra, but  they  were  murdered  and  eaten  by  the 
natives  before  they  had  had  time  to  establish 
their  station.  "When  the  story  was  related  to  the 
mother  of  one  of  them  in  her  little  New  England 
home,  she  is  said  to  have  turned  to  the  next  boy 
of  the  family  and  said,  *0,  my  son,  somebody 
should  go  to  try  to  reach  these  poor,  misguided 
people.' "  Over  the  grave  of  the  bones  of  these 
two  martyrs  has  been  placed  a  granite  slab  on 
which  is  written.  "The  blood  of  the  martyrs  shall 
become  the  seed  of  the  church.''  This  prophecy 
has  been  amply  fulfilled  in  this  case. 

Twenty-five  years  after  the  death  of  Lyman 
and  Munson,  a  German  missionary,  named  Nom- 
monsen  went  into  the  same  section  of  the  Battak- 
land  and  began  work.  Very  slowly  he  and  his  as- 
sociates gathered  about  them  a  small  company  of 
converts.  Then  came  an  epidemic  and  following 
that  an  awakening  of  spiritual  interest.  Now  in 
that  region  and  in  the  island  of  Nias  there  are 
more  than  a  hundred  thousand  Christians. 

A  Java  Some  fifty  years  ago  a  prominent 
Romance  Dutch  official  in  Java  was  converted 
and  decided  to  devote  the  remainder  oi 
his  life  to  mission  work.  He  gathered  about  him 
a  few  young  Javanese  and  Malays  and  taught 
them  the  Christian  faith.  As  the  converts  began 
to  come  in  he  sent  them  out  two  by  two  to  preach. 

They  went  through  the  villages.  Wherever 
they  had  a  hearing,  they  stopped  for  a  few  days ; 


31 


if  men  believed,  they  reported  back  to  their  lead- 
er, Mr.  Anting,  who  sent  out  a  man  to  serve  as  a 
pastor  and  teacher.  In  a  few  years  Mr.  Anting 
had  gathered  around  himself  nearly  five  thousand 
converts  from  Mohammedanism.  What  was  the 
secret  of  his  success?  Just  an  overwhelming 
love  for  folks.  He  was  rich  and  he  became  poor 
for  their  sakes.  He  gave  everything  which  he 
possessed,  and  when  there  was  no  more  to  give  he 
wept  with  the  people  in  their  distresses.  When  he 
died  he  had  to  be  buried  at  public  expense.  But 
after  fifty  years  the  old  men  and  women  will  weep 
as  they  tell  of  their  father  in  the  gospel. 


82 


METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  MISSION 


In  February,  1885,  a  new  factor  appeared  in  the 
relig-ious  life  of  Malaysia — the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  opened  a  mission  in  Singapore.  The 
founding  of  this  station  is  one  of  the  romances  of 
modern  mission  history.  For  several  years  Dr. 
James  M.  Thobum,  then,  presiding  elder  of  the 
Calcutta  District,  South  India  Conference,  had  felt 
a  growing  interest  in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the 
forty  million  people  whose  commercial  interests 
center  about  the  city  of  Singapore,  the  '^Gateway 
of  the  farther  East."  In  writing  of  this  period 
Bishop  Thobum  says:  "At  length  I  became  so 
impressed  with  the  importance  of  the  project  that, 
early  in  the  year  1884,  I  published  a  letter  in  the 
Western  Christian  Advocate  calling  for  two  young 
men  to  come  out  as  volunteers  and  occupy  the 
distant  outpost  of  Singapore.  I  had  nothing  to 
offer  the  volunteers  except  a  great  opportunity  to 
do  and  dare  for  their  master.  We  had  not  a  dol- 
lar of  financial  resources,  and  our  plan  was  to  do 
as  we  had  done  in  so  many  cities  of  India — preach 
to  the  Europeans  and  Eurasians,  organize  a  self- 
supporting  church  among  them,  and  then  from 
this  base  work  outward  among  the  non-Christian 
people.  The  utmost  that  I  could  promise  was  that 
I  would  accompany  the  two  young  men  and  help 
them  make  a  start  by  preaching  for  a  season  and 
organizing  the  work  for  them." 

Twenty  young  men  volunteered,  but  after 
lengthy  correspondence  it  was  felt  that  no  two  of 
these  were  fitted  for  this  particular  work.  The 
outcome  of  this  effort  might  have  postponed  for 

years  the  establishment  of  the  mis- 
Providential  sion  had  not  Providence  been  put- 
Forces,  ting  into  operation  other  forces. 

Bishop  Hurst,  who  had  been  hold- 


33 


ing  the  conference  in  Europe,  had  had  his  atten- 
tion called  to  the  strategic  value  of  Singapore,  and 
when  he  arrived  in  Haidarabad,  where  he  was  to 
preside  over  the  South  India  Conference,  he  was 
enthusiastic  over  the  idea  of  founding  a  new  mis- 
sion in  Malaysia.  Under  the  inspiration  of  two 
such  leaders  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  Con- 
ference was  ready  to  undertake  great  things.  A 
foreign  mission  determined  to  establish  a  foreign 
mission,  and  the  name  of  William  F.  Oldham  was 
read  out  in  the  list  of  appointments  as  missionary 
to  Singapore. 

Mr.  Oldham,  Indian  born  of  English  parents, 
was  in  many  ways  admirably  adapted  to  accom- 
plish the  difficult  task  mapped  out  for  him.  He 
had  served  under  the  Indian  government  as  a  civil 
engineer,  but  after  his  conversion  felt  the  call  to 
service  in  the  Church.  Realizing  the  need  of  fur- 
ther education,  he,  with  his  wife,  came  to  Amer- 
ica, where  he  remained  several  years  in  attend- 
ance at  one  of  our  colleges.  At  the  time  of  his 
appointment  to  Singapore  he  was  on  the  ocean  on 
his  way  to  take  up  the  work  there  under  the 
Methodist  Church. 

With  scarcely  enough  money  to  pay  for  their 
passage  Dr.  Thoburn,  Mr.  Oldham,  Mrs.  Thoburn, 
and  Miss  Battle  started  for  Singapore.  Mrs.  Old- 
ham remained  for  a  time  with  her  mother  in  India, 
but  her  later  presence  and  work  were  of  much 
value  in  the  early  period  of  the  new  mission. 

When  the  little  company  reached  Singapore 
they  were  met  at  the  wharf  by  Mr.  Charles  Phil- 
lips, an  earnest  Christian  who  had  been  so  ini- 
pressed  by  a  dream  in  which  he  had  seen  a  ship 
coming  in  with  a  party  of  missionaries  on  board 
that  he  had  gone  to  meet  the  ship,  and  there 
recognized  the  faces  seen  in  his  dream.  Mr.  Phil- 
lips took  them  to  his  home  and  entertained  them 
during  their  stay. 


34 


The  Town  Hall  was  rented  and  nightly  preach- 
ing services  were  begun.  On  the  fourth  evening 
the  first  break  came,  and  several  were  converted. 
The  meetings  continued  for  three  weeks,  and  at 
the  end  of  that  time  seventeen  had  decided  to 
unite  with  the  Methodist  Church.  Two  of  these, 
John  Polglase  and  F.  J.  Ben j  afield,  had  been  mem- 
bers of  the  English  Methodist 
First  Fruits  Church,  and  they  were  taken  into 
full  membership.  The  other  fifteen 
were  received  on  probation.  It  was  with  this  little 
church,  and  with  the  promise  of  only  such  support 
as  they  could  give  him  that  Mr.  Oldham  was  left, 
while  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Thoburn  and  Miss  Battie  re- 
turned to  India. 

From  1885  to  1887  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Oldham  carried 
on  the  work  alone,  but  during  the  next  three  years 
there  followed  in  rapid  sucession  the  arrival  of 
the  Rev.  George  A.  Bond  and  wife.  Miss  Sophia  A. 
Blackmore,  Rev.  Ralph  W.  Munson  and  wife,  the 
Rev.  Benjamin  F.  West,  M.  D.,  and  wife,  the  Revs. 
William  T.  Kensett,  William  N.  Brewster,  W.  G. 
Shellabear,  and  Charles  A.  Gray,  and  Dr.  Henry 
L.  E.  Luering.  Since  that  time  more  than  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  other  names  have  appeared  in  the 
lists  of  appointments.  In  1918  the  Foreign  Staff 
numbered  94.  Of  the  others,  some  have  gone  to 
their  reward,  but  most  of  them,  broken  in  health, 
have  returned  to  the  homeland  to  stay. 

Seeing  the  need  of  work  among  the  women  of 
Malaysia  Mrs.  Oldham  sent  an  appeal  to  Mrs. 
Mary  Hind,  then  secretary  of  the  MinneapoHs 

Branch  of  the  Woman's  Foreign 
Woman's  Missionary  Society.  There  was 
Work  Begun    no  money  in  the  treasury  to  open 

new  work,  but  Mrs.  Nind  said: 
''Frozen  Minnesota  will  yet,  God  helping  her, 
plant  a  mission  at  the  equator;''  and  personally 


35 


pledged  $3,000  for  this  purpose.  Miss  Sophia  A. 
Blackmore  of  Australia  was  appointed,  and  began 
her  work  August  15,  1887.  A  day  school  for  Tamil 
girls  was  opened  in  Singapore,  and  the  women 
were  visited  in  their  homes.  In  1888  Miss  Black- 
more  opened  a  school  for  Chinese  girls  in  Teluk 
Ayer.  The  field  constantly  widened,  and  in  1892 
other  helpers  were  sent. 

In  1899  Bishop  Foss  wrote:  "The  Malaysia 
Mission  Conference  has  the  genius  of  expansion. 
I  could  select  from  the  number  of  its  present  mis- 
sionaries a  first-rate  man  to  be  the  founder  of 
missions  in  Bangkok  or  Manila  or  Borneo  or 
Sumatra,  and  could  find  men  who  are  anxious  to 
go  and  open  the  work  in  those  places."  From  the 
first  the  missionaries  to  Malaysia  have  been  pos- 
sessed by  the  ambition  to  take  possession  of  every 
strategic  position,  to  spread  the  kingdom  to  every 
corner  of  this  vast  region.  The  mis- 
Spirit  of  sion  was  scarcely  five  years  old  when 
Conquest  the  spirit  of  conquest  led  to  an  ex- 
ploring expedition  to  Borneo.  In 
January,  1890,  Dr.  West  and  Dr.  Luering  crossed 
over  to  Pontianak,  on  the  southwest  coast,  and 
explored  the  Kapuas  River  for  about  two  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  into  the  interior.  This  they  found 
to  be  a  magnificent  stream,  navigable  for  ocean 
steamers  for  more  than  two  hundred  miles;  and 
lined  on  either  bank  with  Dyak  villages. 


Borneo  Shortly  after  the  Annual  Meeting, 
Explored  in  February,  1891,  Dr.  John  C.  Floyd, 
then  superintendent  of  the  mission 
and  Dr.  Luering  made  another  tour  of  British 
North  Borneo,  on  the  north  end  of  the  island. 
On  this  trip  it  was  decided  that  Dr.  Luering 
should  remain  and  open  work  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Kimanis  River  among  the  Dyaks.    Dr.  Luering 


36 


remained  there  the  greater  part  of  that  year,  but 
before  the  next  annual  meeting  of  circumstances 
compelled  him  to  return  to  Singapore,  and  the 
mission  to  Borneo  was  abandoned. 

The  records  of  the  same  year  begin  the  story  of 
another  mission  that  has  proved  more  successful. 
At  the  Annual  Meeting  it  was  decided  to  open 
work  in  Penang,  on  the  west  coast  of  the  Penin- 
sula. Penang  is  the  second  city  in  the  Straits 
Settlements,  and  has  a  population  of  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  people,  most 
of  them  being  Chinese  or  Tamils.  The  island  of 
Penang  was  acquired  by  the  English  Government 
by  cession  from  a  native  prince  in  1785  for  the 
small  annual  payment  of  $6,000. 

Extension  It  is  two  miles  from  the  mainland, 
to  Penang  and  is  twelve  miles  long  and  nine 
wide.  Later  a  small  strip  was  taken 
possession  of  on  the  opposite  coast  to  arrest  the 
Malay  piracy  of  that  part  of  the  high  seas.  This 
strip  is  known  as  Province  Wellesley,  and  was 
purchased  for  an  annuity  of  $2,000. 

In  the  spring  of  1891  the  Rev.  Daniel  D.  Moore 
and  the  Rev.  Benjamin  H.  Balderston  were  chosen 
to  begin  this  new  mission.  In 
Rapid  Growth  July  Mr.  Balderston  opened  a 
school  on  the  plan  of  the  Anglo- 
Chinese  school  at  Singapore,  and  a  few  weeks 
later  he  was  joined  by  Mr.  Moore,  who  began 
English  preaching  services.  Rev.  G.  F.  Pykett 
succeeded  Mr.  Balderson  and  under  his  principal- 
ship  during  twenty  years  the  enrollment  has 
reached  1500  boys.  The  Penang  Mission  grew 
until,  in  1895,  it  was  made  a  separate  district,  with 
Dr.  West  as  presiding  elder.  Under  his  able  and 
energetic  management  Penang  became  the  center 
of  a  large  and  flourishing  group  of  out-stations. 


37 


The  next  outpost  to  be  occupied  was  Ipoh,  the 
capital  of  the  native  state  of  Perak,  on  the  Penin- 
sula. In  November  of  1894  the  Rev.  Tinsley  W. 
Stagg  was  sent  to  open  an  Anglo-Chinese  school. 

Ipoh  a  On  account  of  his  wife's  illness 

New  Center  Mr.  Stagg  remained  only  part  of 
a  year  and  then  was  succeeded  by 
the  Rev.  William  E.  Horley.  The  mission  at  Ipoh 
grew  until  it  soon  appeared  in  the  list  of  appoint- 
ments as  the  Perak  District. 

In  1896  Mr.  Munson  was  appointed  to  open  a 
mission  at  Kuala  Lumpur,  the  capital  of  the 
Federated  Malay  States.     A  prelimniary  trip 
was  made,  but  the   health  of 
Kuala  Lumpur    Mrs.   Munson  failed,   and  Mr. 

and  Mrs.  Munson  returned  to 
America.  It  was  not  till  March,  1897,  that  the 
work  at  Kuala  Lumpur  was  really  begun  by  Dr. 
W.  T.  Kensett  and  his  wife.  The  same  year  saw 
a  native  Chinese  preacher  placed  at  historic 
Malacca. 

In  the  appointments  of  the  Malaysia  Con- 
ference of  1900  we  find  what  probably  has  no 
parallel  in  the  history  of  Methodism.  We  read: 
"Philippine  Islands  District,  Presiding  Elder,  to 
be  supplied;  Manila,  English  Church,  to  be  sup- 
plied; Spanish  work,  to  be  supplied;  Eduational 
work,  to  be  supplied;  Soldiers'  and  Seamens'  In- 
stitute, Mrs.  A.  E.  Prautch ;  Iloilo,  to  be  supplied.'' 

Philippine  Islands.  The  marvelous  story  of  the 
development  of  this  pre- 
siding elder's  district,  which  had  no  presiding 
elder,  no  preachers,  and  no  Church  organization, 
does  not  belong  to  this  little  book. 

One  of  the  striking  events  in  the  development 
of  the  Malaysia  Mission  was  the  founding  of  the 
Chinese  Christian  Colony  on  the  Redjang  River 
in  Sarawak.    Both  Sir  James  Brooke   and  his 


38 


nephew,  who  died  two  years  ago,  as  well  as  the 
present  rajah,  have  had  keen  appreciation  of  the 
value  of  missionary  work,  and  have  consistently 
encouraged  all  efforts  made  for  the  regeneration 
of  the  people. 

It  was  with  the  belief  that  Christian  colonists 
were  of  more  value  in  developing  the  country  than 
Non-Christians  that  the  Radja  loaned  a  large  sum 

of  money  to  a  company  to 
Chinese  Methodist  use  in  bringing  down  from 
Cblonists  China  a  colony  of  Chinese 

Christians.  Of  these  Chi- 
nese about  six  hundred  were  Methodists.  As 
they  were  within  the  bounds  of  the  Malaysia 
Conference  they  must  be  cared  for  by  that  body. 
It  was  in  March,  1901,  that  Bishop  Warne  sailed 
with  the  first  shipload  of  the  colonists  to  their 
new  home.  There  was  no  money  to  send  a  mis- 
sionary over  to  care  for  them,  so  the  work  drag- 
ged along  until  March,  1902,  when  Dr.  West,  as 
presiding  elder  of  the  Singapore  District,  of 
which  Borneo  was  made  a  part,  went  to  Sarawak 
and  organized  the  work,  appointing  a  Chinese 
member  of  Conference  in  Charge.  But  the  need 
of  more  definite  supervision  was  felt  to  be  so 
great  that  in  February,  1903,  the  Rev.  James  M. 
Hoover,  who  had  been  a  teacher  in  the  Anglo- 
Chinese  school  at  Penang,  was  sent  there  to  take 
charge  of  the  mission.  This  colony  has  developed 
until  it  occupies  a  score  of  miles  along  the  river 
front.  Thousands  of  acres  of  jungle  have  been 
cleared  and  planted  to  rice,  and  pepper,  and  rub- 
ber. In  the  midst  of  the  colony  is  the  boys  In- 
dustrial school  and  the  Mission  Rice  Mill.  In 
1919  Sarawak  became  a  separate  district  with  Mr. 
Hoover  as  its  superintendent. 

A  similar  colony  for  Christians  from  China 
was  established  some  fourteen  years  ago  at  Sitia- 
wan,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Malay  Peninsula. 


39 


This  colony  has  also  prospered  and  is  becoming 
the  nucleus  of  a  great  evangelistic  centre. 

In  1885  the  Malaysia  Mission  was  only  an  ap- 
pointment under  the  presiding  elder  of  the  Burma 
District  of  the  South  India  Conference.  On  April 
18,  1889,  the  mission  became  a  separate  and  in- 
dependent organization  under  a 
Organic  Superintendent.    In  1893  another 

Development  step  in  advance  was  taken,  and 
Malaysia  became  a  Mission  Con- 
ference, with  a  presiding  elder  of  its  own.  Then 
followed  in  order  the  Penang  District,  the  Philip- 
pine Islands  District,  and  the  Perak  District.  But 
it  was  on  February  25,  1902,  that  the  Malaysia 
Mission  took  its  place  in  the  sisterhood  of  An- 
nual Conferences  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  One  year  later  the  Conference  formu- 
lated a  memorial  asking  the  General  Conference 
to  set  apart  one  of  her  children,  the  Philippine 
Islands  District,  as  a  separate  mission. 

Java  A  most  romantic  episode  in  Malaysia's 
religious  history  was  the  opening  of  work 
in  the  Island  of  Java.  Before  going  to  Amer- 
ica on  furlough  in  1903  J.  R.  Denyes  became 
greatly  burdened  for  the  salvation  of  the  Mo- 
hammedans of  Java.  He  was  told  that  if  the 
money  could  be  found  he  could  be  sent  to  Java  to 
begin  the  work.  While  in  America  he  was 
brought  into  contact  with  the  young  people  of 
the  Epworth  Leagues  of  the  Pittsburgh  Con- 
ference. These  young  people  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Miss  Bessie  Brooks,  Miss  Elizabeth  Hun- 
ter, Rev.  W.  W.  Youngson,  and  others  had  agreed 
to  raise  $4,000  a  year  with  the  purpose  of  send- 
ing out  four  single  young  men  to  the  foreign 
field.  When  they  heard  from  Mr.  Denyes  of  the 
needs  in  Java  they  decided  to  place  their  money 
there.    Complications   arose   over   the  money 


40 


Of  IHt 


raised  and  there  was  not  sufficient  to  meet  the  ex- 
penses of  opening  the  new  mission,  but  at  the 
critical  moment  the  students  of  Northwestern 
University  offered  to  pay  $1,000  a  year  for  two 
years. 

It  was  in  March,  1905,  that  the  preliminary  sur- 
vey was  made  and  work  was  begun.  In  1906 
work  was  begun  at  Pontianak  in  West  Borneo  by 
Rev.  C.  M.  Worthington  and  in  Medan,  Sumatra, 
by  Solomon  Pakianathan,  a  Tamil  local  preacher. 
In  1907  the  work  in  West  Borneo  and  in  Sumatra 
was  united  with  that  in  Java  and  the  Netherlands 
Indies  District  was  formed  with  J.  R.  Denyes  as 
Superintendent. 

Less  than  thirteen  years  had  passed  when  in 
February,  1918,  The  Netherlands  Indies  Mission 
Conference  was  formed  with  thirty  missionaries 
and  twenty-five  native  preachers  and  teachers  on 
the  roll  and  nearly  a  thousand  members  of  the 
church.  Rev.  H.  B.  Mansell  is  in  charge  of  this 
new  mission. 

From  the  beginning  of  mission  work  in  Malay- 
sia the  workers  have  lived  with  their  eyes  upon 
the  horizon.  They  dream  of  new  fields  to  con- 
quer. But  it  is  not  the  spirit  of  mere 
Paulinie  adventure  or  the  desire  for  *'some  new 
Ambition  thing''  that  prompts  this  reaching  out 
after  new  territory.  Rather  it  is  the 
ambition  of  Paul,  who  said :  '^I  have  fully  preach- 
ed the  Gospel  of  Christ;  yea,  being  ambitious  to 
preach  the  Gospel,  not  where  Christ  was  already 
named,  that  I  might  build  on  another  man's 
foundation;  but  as  it  is  written.  They  shall  see, 
to  whom  no  tidings  of  him  came  and  who  have 
not  heard  shall  understand." 


41 


PROBLEM  AND  DIFFICULTIES 


The  problem  in  Malaysia  is  the  regeneration  of 
at  least  fifty  million  people,  ranging  in  civiliza- 
tion all  the  way  from  the  barbarous  head  hunters 
of  the  jungles  to  the  cultured  but  godless  Europ- 
ean merchant.  Upon  us  as  Christians  is  the  re- 
sponsibility of  implanting  within 
Vast  Range  every  heart  that  will  receive  it 
of  Work.  that  new  life  which  comes  from 
God  alone  and  which  is  the  basis  of 
all  true  spiritual  and  social  reformation. 


The  first  difficulty  to  be  met  in  solving  the 
problem  is  that  of  language.  Malaysia  is  the 
meeting  place  of  all  languages  and  dialects.  More 
than  fifty  languages,  to  say  nothing 
Multiform  of  the  minor  dialects,  are  spoken  on 
Speech  the  streets  of  Singapore.    The  Su- 

perintendent of  the  Singapore  Dis- 
trict holds  Quarterly  Conference  in  seven  distinct 
languages.  When  the  various  native  workers  are 
gathered  together  in  District  or  Annual  Confer- 
ence the  question  of  secretaries  and  interpreters 
becomes  a  serious  one.  The  language  of  com- 
merce is  Malay,  but  although  the  people  of  every 
land  soon  pick  up  enough  of  this  language  to 
transact  ordinary  business,  very  few  of  them  ever 
learn  enough  of  it  to  receive  religious  instruction 
in  it.  There  is  no  other  way  but  to  seek  each 
group  in  its  own  language.  This  means  that 
every  missionary  who  survives  long  enough  must 
learn  from  one  to  five  languages.  The  multitude 
of  languages  complicates  the  question  of  provid- 
ing literature.  Dictionaries  must  be  compiled, 
Bibles  and  other  books  must  be  translated,  and 
hynms  must  be  written.  There  are  no  tools  ready 


42 


at  hand,  but  everything  must  be  made  new,  not 
in  one  tongue  only,  but  in  many. 

The  second  great  obstacle  to  the  evangilization 
of  Malaysia  is  the  trying  climate.  The  monotony 
of  intense,  moist  heat  every  day  in  the  year  so 
wears  upon  the  nervous  system  that  five  years  is 
the  limit  of  time  that  a  missionary  can  remain  in 
Malaysia  without  serious  risk  of  permanently 
injuring  his  health.  Comparatively  few  of  them 
are  able  to  return  to  the  field  after  their  first 
term.  This  leaves  the  work  to  a  large  extent  in 
new  hands. 


If  a  third  obstacle  should  be  mentioned,  it 
would  be  that  of  the  migratory  character  of  the 

population.  Just  as  a  few  years 
Changing  ago  the  people  of  the  Eastern 
Population.    States  poured  out  over  the  Western 

territories  of  America  in  search  of 
wealth,  moving  here  and  there  as  the  hope  of 
greater  profits  beckoned  them  on,  so  the  people 
of  China  and  India  are  pouring  into  Malaysia  in 
search  of  gain.  The  whole  personnel  of  a  con- 
gregation may  change  in  a  single  year.  It  often 
seems  like  sowing  seed  by  the  wayside  to  be  lost 
forever,  but  it  is  not  entirely  so;  for  as  our 
evangelists  push  out  into  new  towns  and  villages 
they  find  here,  there,  and  everywhere  those  who 
have  at  some  time  been  in  the  mission  in  some 
other  place.  This  meeting  with  one  known  in 
s^me  other  city  often  serves  as  an  opening  wedge 
for  the  Gospel  in  a  village  where  it  would  other- 
wise be  hard  to  get  a  hearing.  As  year  ^fter  year 
we  enlarge  our  borders  it  becomes  more  and  more 
easy  to  follow  up  those  in  whose  hearts  some  seed 
has  been  sown.- 


43 


SAVING  FORCES. 


The  regenerating  forces  which  the  Methodist 
Church  is  putting  into  operation  in  Malaysia  may 
be  classified  under  five  heads — evangelistic  work, 
school  work,  medical  work,  industrial  work,  and 
the  spread  of  Christian  literature. 

While  the  mission  of  the  Church  in  Malaysia 
is  primarily  meant  to  reach  Asiatics,  it  has  not 

overlooked  its  responsibility  to- 
Evangelizing  ward  the  Europeans  settled  in  the 
Europeans        port  cities.  The  work  in  Malaysia 

was  begun  by  evangelistic  ser- 
vices among  the  English  speaking  people  of  Sing- 
apore, and  from  the  first  there  has  been  a  prac- 
tically self-supporting  church  in  that  place.  There 
are  also  English-speaking  congregations  at  Pe- 
nang,  Ipoh,  and  Kuala  Lumpur.  While  these 
three  congregations  are  not  entirely  self-support- 
ing, they  contribute  largely  to  the  support  of  the 
native  work  in  the  surrounding  villages,  and  they 
serve  as  object  lessons  in  organized  church  life  to 
the  native  people. 

In  native  work,  as  in  English  work,  the  whole 
machinery  of  the  home  church  is  put  into  opera- 
tion as  rapidly  as  the  development  of  the  organi- 
zation will  permit.   The  opening  of  a  new  station 

in  a  village  or  a  neighborhood  is 
Reaching  usually  preceded  by  street  preach- 
the  Natives,    ing.    A  missionary,  with  a  native 

helper  or  two,  finds  his  way  into  a 
village,  selects  a  convenient  street  corner,  and  be- 
gins to  sing.  The  unusual  noise  attracts  a  crowd. 
The  missionary  mounts  a  doorstep  or  box,  and  ex- 
plains the  nature  of  his  message  and  calls  upon 
his  helpers  to  testify  to  the  power  of  the  Gospel. 
Portions  of  the  Bible,  tracts  and  Christian  calen- 


44 


dars  are  offered  for  sale.  Sometimes  these  visits 
are  made  at  night,  and  magic-lantern  pictures  are 
thrown  upon  a  screen  while  the  missionary  tells 
the  stories  of  the  Bible.  Sooner  or  later  some 
man  will  be  found  who  is  ready  to  offer  the  use 
of  a  room  in  his  home  for  a  small  rental  or  free 
for  the  services.  As  soon  as  the  prejudice  has 
disappeared  sufficiently  for  the  people  to  sit 
quietly  and  listen  the  crowd  is  divided  into  small- 
er groups,  where  more  direct  and  personal  work 
can  be  done.  This  is  the  beginning  of  the  Sunday 
school. 

As  converts  begin  to  come  in,  a  rudimentary 
church  organization  is  formed,  which  gradually 
develops  into  a  regular  church,  with  its  officers 
and  its  sacraments.  The  converts  are  taught  to 
give  first  toward  the  rent  and  incidentals  and 
then  toward  the  pastor's  salary.  A  preacher  is 
appointed  to  look  after  the  congregation,  and  the 
missionary  moves  on  to  another  place,  leaving 
behind  him  a  church  self-supporting  both  finan- 
cially and  spiritually. 

The  Methodist  Church  in  Malaysia  is  now  do- 
ing evangelistic  work  in  thirteen  languages — 
English,  Tamil,  Malay,  Hokkien,  Foochow,  Hak- 
ka,  Cantonese,  Hinghua,  Tiu  Chieu,  Javanese, 
Sundanese,  Battak,  and  Dutch, — and  will  soon 
begin  services  in  the  Dyak  language. 
In  Many  But  it  has  not  been  according  to  any 
Tongues.  plan  of  the  missionaries  to  enter 
upon  so  many  different  fields.  They 
have  merely  followed  the  leadings  of  Pl-ovidence 
into  the  open  doors.  A  Foochow  man,  who  also 
understands  the  Amoy  language,  finds  his  way 
into  an  Amoy  service,  and  becomes  interested,  is 
converted,  and  carries  the  news  back  to  his  own 
family  and  neighborhood.  He  gathers  about  him 
friends  and  neighbors  who  do  not  understand  the 
Amoy.    Their  spiritual  needs  must  be  met;  so 


45 


services  are  begun  in  Foochow.  Thus  from  step 
to  step  the  mission  has  been  led  to  take  up  new 
responsibilities  until  it  has  reached  its  present 
polygot  condition. 

The  objective  point  of  all  mission  work  is  to 
lead  souls  to  God,  and  evangelistic  work  is  the 
most  direct  method  of  accomplishing  this  end. 

But  the  evangelist  does  not 
The  Educational  always  find  a  welcome.  It  fre- 
Door.  quently  happens   that  there 

can  be  found  no  point  of  com- 
mon interest  between  the  missionary  and  the 
people.  The  people  are  content  with  their  own 
way  of  living,  and  resent  any  interference  on  the 
part  of  a  foreigner.  But  let  a  boy  or  girl  become 
a  pupil  in  one  of  these  mission  schools,  and  the 
whole  situation  is  at  once  altered.  Interest  in  a 
child  gives  free  access  to  the  home  and  frequently 
to  the  hearts  of  the  parents. 

School  work  may  be  divided  into  five  classes — 
day  schools  for  boys  and  girls,  boarding  schools 
for  boys  and  girls,  home  schools,  vernacular 
schools,  and  Bible-training  schools  for  men  and 
for  women. 

In  Singapore,  Penang,  Taipeng,  Ipoh,  and  Kuala 
Lumpur  there  are  large  Anglo-Chinese  schools 
for  boys  and  for  girls,  with  branches  in  many 
smaller  towns.  The  largest  of  these  schools  is 
the  Anglo-Chinese  Boys'  School  of  Singapore, 
that  being  the  largest  mission  school  of  its  kind 
in  the  world. 

Boys'  and  The   enrollment  for  1918  was 

Girls'  Schools.  2,000.  The  course  of  study  in 
these  institutions  range  all  the 
way  from  kindergarten  to  entrance  to  Oxford 
and  Cambridge.  The  teaching  is  almost  entirely 
in  English.    The  Boys'  schools  are  maintained 


46 


without  aid  from  the  missionary  treasury,  de- 
riving their  revenue  from  three  sources — school 
fees,  government  grants,  and  special  gifts. 

The  objects  of  these  schools  are  to  educate  the 
children  of  native  Christians,  to  open  the  homes 
of  the  people  to  the  missionaries,  to  remove  the 

prejudices  of  the  people  against 
Their  Aims.     Christianity,  and  to  open  the  eyes 

of  the  younger  generation  to  the 
moral  and  spiritual  possibilities  to  be  found  no- 
where but  in  the  Gospel.  To  this  end  chapel  ser- 
vices are  held  daily.  The  children  are  taught  to 
sing  Christian  songs,  and  are  instructed  in  the 
fundamental  truths  of  religion.  Voluntary  Bible 
classes  are  conducted,  at  which  a  good  percentage 
of  the  students  are  in  attendance.  Lessons  are 
explained  from  the  Christian  viewpoint,  and  five 
days  every  week  the  pupils  are  under  the  in- 
fluence of  earnest  Christian  teachers. 

Connected  with  many  of  the  day  schools  are 
boarding  schools.     The  inmates   of  the  boys' 

boarding  schools  are  for  the 
Boarding  Schools,    most  part  sons   of  wealthy 

parents,  and  these  pay  for 
their  board.  The  boarding  schools  for  girls  par- 
take more  of  the  nature  of  orphanages,  and  de- 
pend upon  scholarships  from  America. 

The  seclusion  of  the  Chinese  girls  in  the  home 
after  they  reach  the  age  of  twelve  or  thirteen 

years  has  compelled  the  missionaries 
Home  to  organize  what  are   called  home 

Schools.       schools.    Bible  women  go  from  home 

to  home,  stopping  for  an  hour  or  so 
at  each  place,  teaching  the  older  girls  and  moth- 
ers to  read  and  sing.  But  this  social  distinction 
is  rapidly  disappearing.  The  girls'  schools  are 
overcrowded.  Nearly  a  thousand  girls  are  en- 
rolled in  the  two  girls  schools  in  Singapore. 


47 


Every  village  church  is  also  a  school.  The  native 
preacher  is  expected  to  see  that  his  church  mem- 
bers and  their  children  are  taught  to  read  their 
Bibles.    This  work  is  done  in  the  vernacular  of 

the  people.  The  inevitable  out- 
Marked  Effect  come  of  this  policy  is  that  while 
in  Villages.        many  of  the  converts  come  from 

the  poor  and  illiterate  classes,  in 
a  comparatively  short  time  the  whole  social  order 
is  overturned,  and  the  Christians  become  the  edu- 
cated and  well-to-do  people  of  the  community. 

The  most  important  branch  of  school  work  is 
that  of  training  the  native  preachers  and  Bible 
women.   Until  the  last  few  years  the  mission  has 

been  compelled  to  depend  for 
Training  School  the  most  part  upon  the  illiter- 
for  Men.  ate   and    untrained  converts 

that  could  be  picked  up  or 
upon  other  denominations.  The  untrained  con- 
verts were  generally  unsatisfactory  in  places 
where  there  was  much  responsibility,  and  those 
brought  from  China  or  taken  from  other  de- 
nominations were  unable  to  fit  in  readily  with  the 
conditions  of  life  as  found  in  the  Straits  Settle- 
ments and  with  the  Methodist  method  of  work. 
The  need  of  more  efficient  helpers  led  Dr.  West, 
then  presiding  elder  of  the  Penang  District,  to 
open  in  1897  a  Bible  Training  School  for  young 
men.  For  twenty  years  the  school  was  con- 
ducted wholly  in  the  vernacular,  but  in  1917  it 
was  felt  that  changed  conditions  had  made  it  es- 
sential that  the  native  preachers  should  also  have 
a  training  in  English,  in  order  to  provide  for  the 
evangelization  of  the  English-speaking  natives 
and  in  order  that  the  preachers  even  in  the  verna- 
cular churches  could  fit  themselves  for  leadership 
in  the  awakened  thinking  of  the  times. 

A  similar  school  for  training  workers  among 


48 


Christian  Chinese  Girl, 
Medan,  Sumatra 


THE  LIBRARY 

Of  mt 


the  Mohammedans  of  Java  has  been  established 
in  Batavia. 

Woman's  In  1902  the  beginning  was 

Training  School.  made  of  a  Bible  Training 
School  for  women.  For 
years  this  school  also  was  conducted  wholly  in 
the  vernacular,  but  during  the  past  few  years 
an  English  Department  has  been  developed  for 
young  women  who  have  completed  at  least  the 
seventh  grade  in  an  English  school.  The  experi- 
ment is  still  too  new  to  speak  with  certainty  as  to 
practical  value  of  the  English  training,  but  there 
is  a  conviction  among  the  missionaries  that  the 
results  will  fully  justify  the  work.  There  can  be 
no  question  as  to  the  outcome  of  the  lives  of  the 
older  women  who  have  been  trained  to  carry  the 
gospel  story  to  their  fellow  countrymen. 

The  first  Methodist  institution  started  in  the 
Netherlands  Indies  was  a  Bible  Women's  Train- 
ing School.  Within  three  months  after  the  mis- 
sion was  begun  two  native  women  were  converted 
and  enrolled  as  probationers.  With  these  two 
women  Mrs.  Denyes  began  her  school.  This  in- 
stitution has  also  grown  until  it  has  twenty-five 
women  and  girls  on  the  roll. 

Christian  In  1890  the  Rev.  W.  G.  Shellabear, 
Literature  who  as  a  voluntary  worker  had  been 
helping  in  the  Mission  by  preaching 
to  the  Malays  for  two  years  previously,  while  he 
was  a  Captain  in  the  Royal  Engineers,  was  ap- 
pointed as  a  missionary  for  Malay  work,  and  came 
out  from  England  with  a  few  hundred  dollars 
which  had  been  raised  in  England  and  America  by 
himself  and  Dr.  Oldham  to  establish  a  Methodist 
Mission  Press  at  Singapore.  Prom  the  small  begin- 
ning made  in  1890  the  printing  press  grew  rapidly 
until,  after  ten  years,  it  had  become  a  large  concern 
employing  50  or  60  native  printers.  As  Mr.  Shella- 


49 


bear's  services  were  required  by  the  Bible  Society 
for  the  translation  of  the  entire  Bible  into  the 
Malay  language,  the  management  of  the  Press, 
now  known  as  the  Methodist  Publishing  House, 
was  handed  over  to  the  present  agent,  Rev.  W.  T. 
Cherry,  who  has  brought  the  enterprise  up  to  its 
present  efficiency  and  commercial  prosperity.  The 
plant  is  now  housed  in  a  beautiful  three  story  brick 
building  of  its  own,  and  is  valued  at  more  than  a 
hundred  thousand  dollars.  From  its  presses  have 
come  thousands  of  Bibles,  tracts,  leaflets,  periodi- 
cals, hymnals,  catechisms,  dictionaries,  and  school 
textbooks, — ^the  working  tools  of  the  Church.  The 
literature  is  scattered  broadcast  by  the  mission- 
ary on  his  rounds,  and  it  not  only  serves  the  pur- 
pose of  teaching  the  truth  to  those  who  have  al- 
ready entered  the  church,  but  it  sows  the  seed  of 
future  harvests. 


50 


RESULTS  AND  OUTLOOKS. 


The  first  g'eneration  in  the  life  of  a  Christian 
mission  must  of  necessity  be  a  time  of  small  be- 
ginning's. The  heathen  mind  cannot 
Statistics,  readily  comprehend  that  spiritual 
life  is  a  possibility.  It  takes  years 
for  an  Asiatic  people  to  realize  that  Christianity 
is  not  a  system  of  forms  and  ceremonies,  purer, 
perhaps,  but  not  essentially  different  from  their 
own  forms  of  worship.  And  yet  the  church  in 
Malaysia  does  not  come  with  empty  hands  as  the 
result  of  her  short  life  of  thirty-four  years.  At 
the  close  of  1917  there  were  in  the  Methodist 
Church  of  Malaysia  2  Bible  Training  Schools  for 
men  and  2  for  women ;  12  Epworth  Leagues  with 
769  members ;  74  Sunday  Schools  with  375  teach- 
ers and  5188  scholars.  There  are  15  boarding 
schools  enrolling  449  boarders,  and  75  day  schools 
with  392  teachers,  1511  girls  and  6839  boys.  The 
foreign  staff  numbered  36  men  and  58  women 
missionaries,  and  there  were  108  local  preachers 
and  4754  members  and  probationers. 

But  these  figures  do  not  tell  the  whole  story 
of  missionary  effort.  Thousands  of  Bibles,  tracts, 
Scripture-text  pictures,  and  religious  periodicals 
have  been  placed  in  non-Christian  homes.  Thou- 
sands of  young  men  and  young  women  have  come 
under  the  influence  of  our  mission  schools,  and 
while  they  are  not  as  yet  Christians,  they  have  lost 
faith  in  idolatry.  A  Christian  sentiment  has  be- 
gun to  pervade  public  thought,  and  on  every  hand 
are  indications  that  the  field  is  white  already  to 
the  harvest. 

Policy  for        It  is  but  natural  that  mission 
Pagan  Races,    work  should  deal  first  with  the 
problems  nearest  at  hand.  Hence 


51 


it  has  been  that  Methodism  has  done  but  little  for 
the  evang'elizing  of  the  pagan  races.  These  folks 
are  nomadic  in  their  habits,  moving  from  place 
to  place  at  short  intervals.  There  are,  however, 
some  tribes  which  have  settled  homes.  These  the 
mission  has  in  the  last  few  years  been  attempting 
to  reach.  In  Sarawak  a  few  of  the  Dyak  boys 
have  been  gathered  into  the  industrial  school. 
But  in  West  Borneo  the  attempt  has  been  more 
successful.  Half  a  dozen  vernacular  schools  have 
been  started  and  a  hundred  and  fifty  boys  and 
girls  are  regularly  enrolled.  The  first  of  the 
teachers  sent  into  this  region  was  a  descendant 
of  the  cannibal  chief  who  massacred  the  mission- 
aries Lyman  and  Munson  in  Sumatra.  The  gen- 
eral method  adopted  for  reaching  the  pagan  tribes 
is  that  of  reaching  the  children  through  verna- 
cular schools  and  following  them  into  their  homes 
through  native  evangelists. 


Policy  for  The  problem  of  dealing  with 

Mohammedans.  Mohammedans  is  to  get  a  sym- 
pathetic hearing.  The  evange- 
list finds  the  people  either  hostile  or  indiflferent. 
Moreover  the  missionary  is  finding  it  increasing- 
ly difficult  to  reach  the  people  on  account  of  the 
rapidly  increasing  number  of  Hadjis,  or  religious 
teachers.  Ten  thousand  pilgrims  from  Malaysia 
find  their  way  annually  to  the  sacred  shrine  at 
Mecca.  These  return  to  Malaysia  with  greatly 
increased  social  prestige  which  they  use  to  tight- 
en the  grip  of  I^lam  upon  their  fellows.  Wher- 
ever there  is  a  Hadji  there  is  a  home  or  perhaps 
a  whole  village  closed  to  all  mission  work.  The 
increase  in  the  number  of  Hadjis  and  the  rapid, 
natural  increase  of  the  population,  which  amounts 
to  nearly  five  hundred  thousand  a  year,  makes 
the  outlook  rather  hopeless,  unless  we  can  create 


53 


a  mass  movement  at  some  centre  and  make  it 
spread  to  the  surrounding  districts. 

The  first  systematic  effort  of  the  Methodist 
Church  to  reach  the  Mohammedans  is  in  opera- 
tion at  Tjisaroea,  Java.  Here  a  modem,  well- 
equipped  hospital  with  a  hundred  beds  has  re- 
cently been  made  possible  through  the  generosity 
of  the  Dutch  Government,  the  young  people  of 
Ohio,  and  Mr.  Bruno  Bik  who  gave  a  beautiful  site 
of  twelve  acres  of  land.  Thousands  of  cases  are 
already  being  cared  for  by  the  doctor.  With  the 
doctor  is  a  missionary  evangelist  who  follows  up 
the  cases  to  their  homes.  In  the  whole  region 
about  the  hospital  are  being  established  verna- 
cular schools  for  the  boys  and  girls.  Through 
the  medical  work  and  the  schools  the  whole  fam- 
ily is  reached.  By  massing  the  schools  a  public 
sentiment  is  created  and  an  impression  is  left 
that  Christianity  is  a  going  concern.  Prejudice 
is  dissipated,  and  it  becomes  easier  not  only  for 
the  missionary  to  get  a  hearing  but  also  for  the 
people  to  break  away  from  the  chains  of  custom 
and  belief. 


Policy  for  the  No  body  of  missionaries  can  hope 
Immigrants*  to  evangelize  the  five  hundred 
thousand  Indians  and  Chinese 
who  are  pouring  into  Malaysia  every  year.  More 
and  more  the  overcrowded  provinces  of  India  and 
China  are  sending  their  surplus  population  into 
this  tropical  region.  Here  free  from  the  petty 
oppression  and  squeezing  of  a  corrupt  govern- 
ment, free  to  develop  to  its  fullest  extent  a  natur- 
al field  capable  of  wonderful  expanison,  the 
Chinese  and  the  Indians  are  laying  the  founda- 
tions of  the  great  republics  which  are  about  to 
be  born. 

What  shall  be  the  ideals,  the  morals,  the  re- 
ligion of  these  new  nations?    This  is  a  question 


53 


which  the  Church  must  answer.  The  people  for 
the  most  part  come  to  Malaysia  both  poor  and 
ignorant.  They  will  follow  the  leaders  whom  they 
find  there.  Whoever  then  makes  the  leaders  of 
Malaysia  will  fix  the  type  of  the  coming  civiliza- 
tion. It  has  been  with  this  thought  in  mind  that 
the  Methodist  Church  in  Malaysia  has  developed 
its  Einglish  school  system.  Already  eight  thou- 
sand boys  and  girls  are  being  taught  the  best  of 
western  culture.  Not  all  will  become  Christians, 
but  all  will  become  better  men  and  women  for 
their  contact  with  the  consecrated  men  and  wo- 
men who  have  sought  to  transplant  into  their 
hearts  the  noblest  and  best  in  their  own. 

Briefly  then  the  policy  for  the  immigrants  is  to 
Christianize  the  future  leaders  through  the 
schools  and  through  the  Christianized  leaders  set 
the  moral,  and  social,  and  religious  standards  for 
the  coming  day.  The  climax  of  the  school  policy 
is  in  the  Christian  University  at  Singapore  of 
which  the  foundations,  through  the  generosity  of 
the  wealthy  Chinese  there,  are  already  being  laid. 

It  is  given  to  the  Church  of  today  to  do  a  work 
which  the  Church  of  the  next  generation  cannot 
do.  This  generation  is  re- 
Preparing  sponsible  for  setting  its  stamp 
Native  Leaders,  upon  a  civilization  in  its  forma- 
tive period,  at  a  time  when  old 
traditions  and  superstitutions  are  losing  their 
hold,  when  new  conditions  are  forcing  upon  a  peo- 
ple new  habits  of  life  and  thought.  If  the  Church 
is  to  mold  public  sentiment  in  this  new  era,  she 
must  send  forth  not  a  few  but  many  trained  men 
and  women  capable  of  taking  their  places  as  lead- 
ers among  the  people.  For  at  least  another  gen- 
eration there  must  be  a  few  well-qualified  Ameri- 
to  teach  organization,  but  the  great  work  of 
transformation  must  fall  upon  trained  native 
workers.    Funds  invested  in  the  work  of  raising 


54 


up  an  army  of  consecrated,  educated,  native 
Christian  leaders  will  yield  an  increase  of  a  hun- 
dredfold. This  is  the  great  need  of  Malaysia.  Its 
beautiful  island  domain  forms  the  connecting 
link  between  our  work  in  southern  and  eastern 
Asia,  having  close  commercial  and  ethnic  re- 
lations on  the  one  side  with  India  and  on  the  other 
with  China.  Some  of  the  most  devoted  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Church  have  offered  themselves 
willingly  as  a  sacrifice  for  its  uplifting.  Others 
are  needed,  who  will  follow  in  the  paths  which 
have  been  opened,  and  extend  the  saving  influence 
of  the  cross,  of  the  schools,  and  of  Christian 
literature  to  these  millions  of  people? 


55 


